A small plane crashed on the BART tracks in Hayward, California on Sunday afternoon, killing the pilot and delaying trains as Golden State Warriors fans were making their way to Oakland for Game 7 of the NBA finals, reported the
San Francisco Chronicle.
The twin-engine Piper PA23 crashed on the Bay Area Rapid Transit tracks four miles east of the Hayward Executive Airport about 12:05 p.m., said the Chronicle. The airplane caught fire when it crashed on the transfer tracks close to BART's Hayward yard, stopping train service on the Fremont line for a little more than two hours.
Ian Gregor, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration, told the Chronicle that the pilot was the only person on the airplane.
The
San Jose Mercury News said trains traveling north from Fremont and Union City could not reach Coliseum station in Oakland, the stop for fans going to Oracle Arena. The newspaper said BART used AC Transit bus to move passengers past the affected route until the tracks were back up and running.
Gregor told the Chronicle that the National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA are investigating the cause of the crash.
BART officials told
KPIX-TV that the Union City and Fremont stations reopened at 2:30 p.m. with delays in the Fremont and Richmond directions.
BART expressed condolences to the pilot's family while alerting basketball fans that trains were back up and running through social media.